Hope DesRoche is a prime example of what happens when opportunity meets hard work.
Hailing from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Hope began her time with Student Works in the midst of pandemic restrictions that barred her district manager from assisting her in person throughout her entire first season as a rookie operator.
In a recent conversation with Chris Thomson on our Leaders of Tomorrow Podcast, Hope shared her journey with the listeners. Despite the initial hardships, Hope prevailed and has gained major success with her painting business. In fact, as of right now, she’s booked orders worth close over $400,000 in her two summers with Student Works!
If you’re a rookie operator looking to fill Hope’s shoes, here are a few key details found in her playbook for success:
Push Yourself
Hope is a firm believer that top performers are born out of a deep desire to push towards self-optimization.
“You should always be working to be the best possible version of yourself. Whether you’re completely winning and you’re at the top of the leaderboard of whatever you’re doing in life, or if you’re dead last. You should always be working just as hard to be the best version of yourself because at the end of the day you’re striving for success for you. It’s not about anybody else and it’s not about beating the standards that are out there for anyone else. It’s about beating your own personal standards,” she advised.
Dream Big
Before her tenure with Student Works, Hope struggled with her ability to dream beyond what other members of her community were doing.
“It’s changed my view on what was possible. For the longest time I expected myself to live a great life but I expected myself to be like everybody else. I wanted to get a good job, get a good pension, have a house, have a family,” she told Chris.
It wasn’t until she stepped outside of the traditional model she had been sold her whole life that she began to embrace a future of wild possibilities.
“I always knew going to bed at night that these were my goals and these were my dreams and I knew that’s what I wanted. But to be honest with you, I didn’t know how to get there. [I really believed that] if I follow the traditional steps, if I go to school, if I get my degree, if I study really hard, things are just going to work out. It’s not really the case because thousands of other people are doing the exact same thing you’re doing hoping to get the same results,” she shared.
Raise the Bar
Hope is no stranger to setting the bar high for herself.
“I find my minimum standards are what some people call their top standards,” she told Chris.
She believes that if you set your lowest standard to mean that you are winning and on top of the game, you can set yourself up for success. Accepting mediocrity isn’t an option.
“The top performers are constantly working on that consistency and they’re always wanting to be better so that they can reach those goals and I think that just keeps propelling them forward to the point where they’re hitting everything that they want to. But that’s still not enough, so they want to continue to grow,” she explained.
When you consistently raise the bar for yourself, leadership and success will follow. Hope is living proof!
Are you a student looking to further your development as a leader and enter the exciting world of entrepreneurship? Check out more stories from Student Works participants and alumni on our Leaders of Tomorrow Podcast!
